KLRU's Crowdfunding Success Secrets

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by Brionne Griffin, Marketing Associate, PBS Digital on

A few weeks ago, we announced the launch of two new crowdfunding campaigns on Indiegogo. These campaigns were unique in that PBS Digital Studios agreed to match all the funds raised, up to $10,000. These campaigns are now over and both stations exceeded their donation goals. Last week, we talked toKTTZabout their secrets for crowdfunding success, and today we're talking to Sara Robertson from KLRU about why their Indiegogo campaign was such a hit.

KLRU was the other station to participate in PBS Digital Studio’s matching grants program. A veteran of crowdfunding campaigns, KLRU knows a thing or two about running a successful campaign.

In thisIndiegogo campaign, they raised funds to be able to bring a graphic novel to life in front of a live audience. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that? Clearly, no one, as KLRU raised more than $1,000 over their original goal of $25,000.

Sara Robertson, Creative Director at KLRU said the matching funds from PBS "was a huge motivator and incentive for our supporters."

Because they have ample experience with crowdfunding campaigns, KLRU has learned a lot of lessons about what works well and what does not work so well. This time around, Sara said the biggest change was forming partnerships.

"We knew finding a strong partnership was going to be crucial, so our big change was making sure this was a mandatory trait of potential collaborators," Sara said. "The Intergalactic Nemesis have been a dream to work with and were great in getting out the word and using their email list to solicit support."

Another improvement KLRU made was the way they promoted the campaign to their community. Sara said they also conducted more targeted emails to member groups, as well as running a shortened version of our pitch video on-air.